Privacy Policy

Immediate Surgery Canada (“Immediate Surgery,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) is part of the RCM Health network, which has been providing healthcare access and related services for more than 30 years.

We are committed to protecting your personal information and personal health information and to clearly describing how we collect, use, store and disclose information in connection with the services provided by Immediate Surgery.

This Privacy Policy applies to information collected through our website, intake and consultation process, surgical access services, care coordination services and related services (collectively, the “Services”).

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, “Personal Information” includes information that identifies or can reasonably be associated with an individual. This includes personal health information such as medical history, diagnoses, medical records, imaging, medications, treatment information and other health-related information you provide to us or that is provided to us with your authorization.

Personal Information and personal health information may be protected under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”), the Personal Health Information Protection Act (“PHIPA”) and other applicable federal and provincial privacy legislation.

By providing Personal Information to Immediate Surgery or requesting our Services, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy, except where otherwise permitted or required by law.

This Privacy Policy applies to Immediate Surgery, RCM Health where involved in providing or supporting the Services, our personnel, affiliated medical specialists and subspecialists, contractors, consultants, service providers and other parties that may process Personal Information on our behalf.

1. What Personal Information Do We Collect?

To understand your surgical needs and provide the Services, we may collect information including:

1. Your full name;
2. Telephone number;
3. Email address;
4. Date of birth and other identifying information where required;
5. Information about your symptoms, diagnosis and current medical concerns;
6. Medical history, medications, previous procedures, treatments and relevant health conditions;
7. Medical records, physician reports, laboratory results, diagnostic imaging and other clinical documentation;
8. Information regarding your preferred treatment location, timing and surgical preferences;
9. Information necessary to coordinate consultations, procedures, travel or related healthcare services;
10. Insurance or payment-related information where applicable;
11. Communications you have with our team; and
12. Feedback, survey responses or other information you voluntarily provide.

We will limit the Personal Information we collect to information reasonably necessary to assess your case, coordinate your care, provide the Services or meet applicable legal requirements.

2. How We Use Your Personal Information

Immediate Surgery and, where applicable, RCM Health may use your Personal Information to:

1. Review and understand your surgical needs;
2. Assess which surgeons, specialists, subspecialists, hospitals, clinics or surgical facilities may be appropriate for your case;
3. Coordinate consultations, second opinions, diagnostic reviews, surgical procedures and related healthcare services;
4. Provide relevant information to healthcare professionals and facilities involved in reviewing or providing your care;
5. Communicate with you regarding your inquiry, consultation, treatment options or surgical plan;
6. Coordinate scheduling, travel, logistics and other aspects of your surgical journey;
7. Assist with treatment estimates, financial arrangements or insurance-related matters where requested;
8. Maintain appropriate records relating to the Services provided to you;
9. Process payments where applicable;
10. Respond to questions, concerns and requests;
11. Improve our Services, operations and patient experience; and
12. Meet applicable legal, regulatory, accounting and administrative requirements.

Immediate Surgery and RCM Health will not sell your Personal Information.

We will not retain, use or disclose Personal Information for purposes unrelated to providing the Services unless you have provided consent or the collection, use or disclosure is otherwise permitted or required by law.

3. Sharing and Disclosure of Personal Information

By providing us with Personal Information for the purpose of accessing surgical care, you acknowledge that relevant information may need to be shared with healthcare professionals and organizations involved in reviewing, arranging or providing your care.

Depending on your circumstances, these parties may include:

• Surgeons, physicians, specialists and subspecialists;
• Hospitals, surgical centres, clinics and other healthcare facilities;
• Diagnostic imaging providers and laboratories;
• Medical case managers and care coordinators;
• Healthcare professionals involved in your existing or proposed care;
• RCM Health and personnel within the RCM Health network involved in providing or supporting the Services;
• Insurance providers or benefit administrators where authorized;
• Travel, accommodation or logistical service providers where necessary and authorized;
• Technology providers that support secure communications, document storage, scheduling, payment processing and related operations; and
• Professional advisors, regulators, law enforcement agencies or governmental authorities where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

Information shared with surgeons, specialists and healthcare facilities will be limited to information reasonably necessary for them to assess your case, provide a medical opinion or deliver the requested care.

Where consent is required by law, appropriate consent will be obtained before your information is disclosed.

4. Personal Health Information

Because Immediate Surgery helps individuals access medical and surgical care, much of the information provided to us may constitute personal health information.

Immediate Surgery and the RCM Health network recognize the sensitive nature of this information and take appropriate administrative, technical and organizational measures to protect it.

Personal health information will be handled in accordance with applicable privacy legislation, including PHIPA where applicable.

Surgeons, physicians, hospitals, clinics and other healthcare providers involved in your care may have their own independent legal obligations regarding the collection, use, disclosure, security and retention of your personal health information.

Those healthcare providers may also create and maintain separate medical records relating to consultations, diagnoses, treatment recommendations and procedures.

5. Consent

By voluntarily providing Personal Information to Immediate Surgery for the purpose of requesting a consultation, surgical review, second opinion or other Service, you consent to our collection and use of that information for purposes reasonably necessary to respond to your request and provide the Services.

This may include sharing relevant medical information with RCM Health personnel, affiliated healthcare professionals, surgeons, specialists and facilities involved in evaluating or providing your care.

Where appropriate, we may request additional or express consent before disclosing information to another party.

You may withdraw your consent to certain uses or disclosures of your Personal Information, subject to legal, medical, contractual or regulatory limitations and reasonable notice.

Withdrawing consent may affect our ability to evaluate your case or provide some or all of the Services.

6. Communication Preferences

By providing your telephone number, email address or other contact information, you consent to Immediate Surgery and, where applicable, RCM Health contacting you regarding your inquiry and the Services you have requested.

Communications may include:

• Consultation scheduling;
• Requests for medical information or documentation;
• Updates regarding specialist or surgical reviews;
• Treatment and care coordination information;
• Scheduling and logistical information; and
• Other communications reasonably necessary to provide the Services.

Marketing or promotional communications, where used, will be provided in accordance with applicable Canadian law and will include an appropriate method for unsubscribing.

7. Security

Immediate Surgery, RCM Health and the healthcare professionals and service providers involved in delivering the Services take reasonable measures to safeguard Personal Information.

These measures may include appropriate administrative, physical and technical safeguards, access controls, secure technology platforms, encryption where appropriate, password protection and restrictions on access to Personal Information based on operational or clinical need.

We also expect service providers that process Personal Information on our behalf to maintain appropriate privacy and security safeguards.

Despite these safeguards, no electronic storage or transmission system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

If a privacy or security incident involving your Personal Information occurs, we will take reasonable steps to contain, investigate and remediate the incident and will provide notification where required by applicable law.

8. Storage and Retention

We retain Personal Information only for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected and to meet applicable legal, regulatory, contractual and operational requirements.

The appropriate retention period may vary based on the nature of the information and the Services provided.

When Personal Information is no longer required, it may be securely destroyed, deleted or anonymized, subject to applicable legal and healthcare recordkeeping requirements.

Healthcare professionals and facilities involved in your care may be required to maintain their own medical records for periods established under applicable professional or healthcare legislation.

9. Service Providers and Information Outside Canada

Immediate Surgery may coordinate access to surgeons, specialists and surgical facilities in Canada, the United States, Europe or other jurisdictions depending on your needs and treatment plan.

Providing these Services may therefore require Personal Information or personal health information to be transferred to or accessed by healthcare professionals, facilities or service providers outside your home province or outside Canada.

We may also use technology and administrative service providers that process or store information in other jurisdictions.

When Personal Information is transferred to another jurisdiction, it may become subject to the laws of that jurisdiction and may be accessible to courts, law enforcement agencies or governmental authorities in accordance with applicable law.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that organizations processing Personal Information on our behalf maintain appropriate privacy and security protections.

10. Accessing or Correcting Your Personal Information

You may request access to Personal Information maintained about you by Immediate Surgery or RCM Health, as applicable, and may request that inaccurate or incomplete Personal Information be corrected.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request.

Some information may be maintained directly by a surgeon, physician, hospital, clinic or other healthcare provider. If another healthcare provider is responsible for maintaining the medical record, you may need to direct your access or correction request to that provider.

Access and correction rights may be subject to limitations or exceptions established under applicable privacy legislation.

11. Website Information, Cookies and Analytics

When you visit the Immediate Surgery website, we or our service providers may automatically collect certain technical information, including:

• Your IP address;
• Browser and device information;
• Pages visited;
• Referring website;
• Approximate geographic location;
• Date and time of website activity; and
• Information collected through cookies and similar technologies.

We may use this information to operate and secure our website, understand how visitors use it, improve website performance and usability, and measure the effectiveness of our communications and advertising.

You may be able to control certain cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect the functionality of some areas of the website.

12. Third-Party Websites and Services

Our website may contain links to surgeons, hospitals, surgical facilities or other websites and services that are operated independently of Immediate Surgery and RCM Health.

This Privacy Policy does not govern the privacy practices of those independent third parties.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of third-party organizations before providing Personal Information directly to them.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our Services, business practices, technology, healthcare network or legal requirements.

The current version of the Privacy Policy will be made available through our website.

Where appropriate, we may provide additional notice when material changes are made.

14. Governing Law

This Privacy Policy will be interpreted in accordance with applicable Canadian federal and provincial privacy legislation, including PIPEDA, PHIPA where applicable, and other relevant privacy laws.

Because Immediate Surgery may coordinate healthcare services across Canada and internationally, the legislation applicable to a particular medical record or disclosure may depend on the nature of the information, the healthcare professional or facility involved and the jurisdiction in which care is provided.

15. Questions or Privacy Requests

Our goal is to make our privacy practices clear and understandable.

If you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy, would like to request access to or correction of your Personal Information, wish to withdraw consent where applicable, or have another privacy-related concern, please contact:

Immediate Surgery Canada / RCM Health
Email: info@rcmhealth.ca
Website: ImmediateSurgery.ca

Last updated: October 2026